It is known that many carbonaceous materials, such as carbon/carbon composites and graphite, as well as other materials, such as silica foams, have properties which make them attractive for use in aerospace, tooling industry, and other applications but that articles formed from them can be damaged by heat, abrasion and/or oxidation. It would be desirable to find a means of protecting them from such damage.
As disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,397,828 (Seyferth et al.-I), 4,482,669 (Seyferth et al.-II), 4,645,807 (Seyferth et al.-III), 4,650,837 (Seyferth et al.-IV), and 4,659,850 (Arai et al.), it is known that ceramics can be obtained from polysilazanes. Seyferth et al.-II teach that their polysilazanes can be used to make coatings or to serve as binders for ceramic powders, such as silicon carbide.